Cloth roll windup and release



N M pl W Wm M S w c r 1B D A 2 T H E E o I S ca I Yfl B J B JACKSON ET AL CLOTH ROLL WINDUP AND RELEASE April 14, 1953 Filed May 3, 1951 April 1953 J. B. JACKSON ETAL 2,634,766

CLOTH ROLL WINDUP AND RELEASE Filed May 3, 1951 2 SI-lEETS-S HEET 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH B. JACKSON y CLIFFORD G. Moo/v A TTORNE Y Patented Apr. 14, 1953 CLOTH ROLL WINDUP AND RELEASE Joseph B. Jackson and Clifford G. Moon, Hopedale, Mass., assignors to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application May 3, 1951, Serial No. 224,422

15 Claims. 1

This invention pertains to looms for weaving, and more particularly, to improvements in that part of such looms which is employed for winding up and for releasing the cloth roll.

It is a general object of the invention to devise a relatively simple and effective means for winding up and for releasing a cloth roll for looms of the type in which the fabric is taken up over a so-called sand or take-up roll and is wound upon a cloth roll through pressure contact between the fabric on said cloth roll and the said take-up roll.

Is is a further object of the invention to devise a cloth roll elevating or windup means wherein the roll shall be suspended upon flexible elements such as cables or the like, and wherein the force incidental to raising the said roll and for maintaining contact between the fabric thereon and the take-up roll is resiliently applied through and by a manually operated ratcheting mechanism and reduction gearing.

It is a further object of the invention to devise such means as pointed out immediately above wherein the cloth roll may at any time be released and lowered to a dofling position by a simple manually operated device functioning to release the ratcheting means and to retard the lowering of the cloth roll through a coordinated brake means.

It is a further object of the invention to devise mechanism of the type described wherein after elevation of the cloth roll, the initial pressure to be developed between the said cloth roll and takeup roll may be definitely limited to some predetermined value and the windup movement automatically controlled to stop when that particular value has been reached.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description.

In looms the fabric is commonly taken up or drawn from the fell or point of weaving as it is passed over a sand roll or take-up roll preferably having a roughened, fabric-gripping surface and which is positively rotated from some appropriate part of the loom. This fabric as it is drawn or taken up by the said means above-mentioned is wound upon a cloth roll by means of which the woven material may thereafter be handled in removing it from the loom and in transferring it to further operations such as the usual finishing steps. In the devices heretofore employed, the cloth roll has normally been supported in a stand or vertical frame mechanism suitably attached to other parts of the loom framework and has been maintained in elevated position under the influence of certain springs on a so-called spring shaft held in bearings adjacent the lower, front portion of the loom, all in a manner well known to those skilled in this art. The spring shaft has normally been interconnected to certain vertically disposed rack means by pinions or other gearing operable from the spring shaft, and the method employed to raise the roll and to develop the requisite amount of initial pressure between the roll, or material threaded thereon, and the takeup roll, has involved certain crank means generally positioned adjacent the center of the spring shaft and functioning thereon through the said spring or springs,

While such cloth roll elevating and lowering means functions reasonably well in many respects, it has always been rather difi'icult to wind up a heavier roll after the same may have been lowered temporarily, and it may in other instances involve work too heavy for the weaver especially when male help is not employed. Now that there has been a definite tendency toward winding a roll of fabric of greater diameter before doffing, the difiiculty justabove-mentioned has become more pronounced and there is a very definite demand for a cloth roll elevating and lowering means which shall be very easily operated for the purpose of manipulating the cloth roll without the necessity of exercising more than a minimum of physical strength. While reduction gearing alone might suggest itself for the purpose, that, it merely applied to the conventional cloth roll raising and lowering means, would render the operation thereof considerably slower, not only during raising, but also preparatory to doffing as, during the releasing of the greatly increased tension in that spring which maintains the roll elevated and in contact with the take-up roll. Furthermore, an attempt to reduce the amount of leverage necessary to elevate or to lower a complete and heavier roll of greater diameter by reduction gearing only has added or increased another difficulty, namely, that of the possibility of winding the cloth roll spring to an excessiveextent at the initial setting of the mechanism, for example, when elevating the relatively empty roll and developing the initial pressure between the material and take-up roll prior to starting weaving and winding of material thereon.' If in an attempt to lessen the forces required, the mechanical advantage is increased, there is a great tendency for the weavers to wind the mechanism until the spring starts to be tensioned, and if little resistance is felt they continue winding the spring until a very noticeable resistance is developed; then as an actual matter of fact, the

spring will have been initially tensioned to too great an extent and will not permit the required movement of the parts for the building of a cloth roll of a diameter originally intended.

With these general difiiculties in mind, the present invention is devoted toward the solution of the problems incidental thereto and toward a relatively fool proof mechanism which shall require a'minimum of physical effort for effecting the various functions which are required. In carrying the invention into effect, it has been found desirable to suspend the cloth roll in more or less Vertically reciprocable guides which are sustained at the ends of cables carried upwardly and over appropriate guiding means and then down wardly to certain cable winding drums or sheaves fixed to a spring shaft which, generally speaking,

7 is effected by certain ratcheting means hereinafter to be described in greater detailand operative through reduction gearing and resilient means. Whenever the cloth roll is to be lowered, for example, when it is desired to dolf the roll of completed material, it is not necessary to operate through the ratcheting means as that merely becomes temporarily ineffective. The roll is lowered upon raising a stop pawl along with which a braking of the spring shaft is effected to permit the fabric mass to move to lowermost position and the spring tension normally sustaining the mass to be dissipated. This is done through the reduction gearing and thus the lowering of the mechanism may be accomplished at a relatively rapid rate. The control for removing or releasing the ratcheting mechanism and for applying the brake is coordinated within a single element so that the disconnecting of the ratching means by which the tension in the spring is actually maintained is at the same time accompanied by braking forces retarding the lowering of the fabric roll. Controlled lowering of the fabric is easily accomplished since the manual means by which the brake is engaged may easily be manipulated to permit the roll to move to a lower position and the spring to unwind without undue speed or shock.

The details of one particular embodiment which the invention may take are illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawings and will be more thoroughly described in the following specification.

In the figures of drawing;

Fig. l is a front elevation of a part of a loom to which the invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken at line 2-2, Fig. 1, and showing certain parts of the novel mechanism at a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of that portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken at line 4-4, Fig. l, and showing the manner in which the cloth roll is suspended.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken at line 5-5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the center line of the spring shaft and showing the gear reduction means by whichthe shaft is rotated and the spring tensioned, also showing certain parts of the means by which overtensioning of the spring. is prevented.

Fig. 7 is a section taken at line 1-1, Fig. 6, and showing further details of the stop means by which the windup and spring tension movements are limited.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the ratcheting means and the brake means by which the forces from manually manipulated levers are conveyed to the reduction gearing of Fig. 6.

Referring to Fig. 1, a typical loom structure has been illustrated only insofar as necessary to show the application of the invention thereto. The loom has a framework built up upon loomsides l0 and H and a number of cross members one of which is evident in the front girt l3 and another of which may be apparent at the breast beam l4, it being understood that the remainder of the 10cm structure and of the operative parts thereof is well known to those skilled in the art and therefore needs no further description at this point.

After the fabric has been formed by the-insertion of filling and'beating the same into, a warp shed, it is advanced or taken up by a take-up roll l5 sometimes referred to as a sand roll, but which, in any instance, constitutes a roll such as illustrated having a very much roughened surface adapted to grip the fabric and to draw it positively from the weaving point and to feed it on to be Wound upon a cloth roll I6 which is adapted to support a considerable. quantity of woven material prior to doffing whenever the roll reaches a maximum size or whenever it becomes necessary to remove a given length of fabric from the loom.

This cloth roll [6 has its ends or journals supported within reciprocable bearings or guide blocks indicated by numerals I! and I8, one such being illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the parts there being shown to a larger scale thereby to clarify their details.

Each bearing block I1 is slideable within a slot or guideway [1 in its respective cloth roll stand l9, there being a similar stand 20 for the opposite block 18, Fig. 1, and it is to be understood that each block is free to move vertically within its slot or guideway but is constrained to be guided or retained within apath of movement as defined by the slot. The bearings are held therein by suitable lateral restraining means such as flanges and the washers 2|, 22 bolted to the block I1 and overlapping the parts of the stand adjacent the slot but having sufficient clearance therewith to permit ready and easy sliding movement of the parts.

Each of the stands l9 and 20 is suitably supported within the loom frame by attachment to the girt [3, or to any other convenient part of the fixed frameworkof the loom, and alsoto the framework thereof at the top, for example, to the breast beam I4. It is to be understood that these cloth roll stands 59 and 20 are provided with suitable notches or recesses adapted to permit the insertion and removal of the cloth roll and are in other respects more or less similar to those usually employed except that they do not provide for the elongated slide members which have previously been employed and which have been provided with rack teeth for engage,- ment with gears on the spring shaft or gears driven thereby.

The take-up roll I5 is rotatable upon bushings or other bearing members 23 in bearing brackets 24 and within which are .rotatably mounted the projecting shaft ends 25 for the said take-up roll.

Between the end flanges ofthe-roll and-the adjacent faces of the bushings and bearings 23 and 24 are freely, rotatably mounted sheaves 26 over which are trained the flexible cables 21 upon which the cloth roll bearing blocks are suspended. One end of each cable 21 is suitably locked or held within a lug 28 projecting from the block such as block I! and as the cable is drawn upwardly over sheave 26, the block and thus the shaft l6 and woven material thereon are raised, or as the cables are payed out in the opposite direction, the corresponding parts are lowered.

These cables which are, by way of example, suitable flexible means for the purpose, although not the only such means which may be employed, are carried rearwardly over other guiding sheaves or flanged members 29 which are incidentally mounted on a shaft 30 carried within suitable notches or recesses in the rearwardly projecting arms 3| which are, according to the preferred form of the invention as herein illustrated, part of the take-up roll bearing and supporting structure and are bolted or otherwise suitably affixed to the inner portion of the breast beam l4.

The cables are then directed downwardly and, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, are attached to and wrapped about sheaves or grooved pulleys or drums 32 and 33 which are themselves fixed to a spring shaft 34 carried in bearings 35 and 36 adjacent the lower ends of the cloth roll stands I9 and 20.

The spring shaft 34 is capable of being rotated to wind the cables about the sheaves 32 and 33 to elevate the roll by mechanism which will be presently described. The rotation of the shaft is accomplished by means of an arm 31, and through a ratchet means and reduction gearing a torsional force is imparted to a spring 38 which is in turn fixed at one end 39 to a collar 49 set screwed or otherwise suitably restrained from rotation upon the shaft 34.

This spring is connected at its other end to a lug 4| projecting from the hub 42 of gear 43. Rotation of the gear 43 will therefore tend to wind spring 38 providing the rotation is of the proper direction, and when the roll is empty, there is very little deflection or tensioning of the spring required to effect rotation of shaft 34 and movement of the connected parts. However, once the cloth roll has been elevated and initial pressure established, building of the cloth mass on the roll necessarily forces it away from the take-up roll I5, the weight further increasing at the same time, so that the cables 2! are pulled in a direction to turn the shaft 34 against the resistance of spring 38. That necessarily winds the spring more tightly and whenever the cloth roll has reached a maximum diameter, the spring will have been wound to its greatest extent, it being understood that the torsional forces necessarily to be stored in the spring and other factors govern its length and it must be designed to take care of a maximum condition for any particular installation.

The gear 43 and its hub are loosely mounted for rotation on the shaft 34 while the sheaves 32 and 33 are fixed to that shaft. Rotation of the gear 43 is effected through a pinion 44 fixed to the end of a short or stub shaft 45 and extending through suitable bearings 49 to carry a brake drum 4? and a ratchet wheel 48 the purpose of which will presently be described. All of these parts are fixed to the stub shaft 45 and the ratchet wheel 48 is adapted to be controlled by the arm 3'! through a pawl or tooth 49 at the depending or opposite end of the lever from the arm 31 and which engages with the teeth of the said ratchet wheel. As shown more clearly in Fig. 8, this ratcheting lever is provided with an enlarged portion 59 which has a slightly elongated opening for the stub shaft 45 and is held thereon by a washer 5| retained in place by a collar or other retaining means 52. The projecting lug or arm 53 which carries the tooth or pawl 49 is also connected to a spring 54 which extends to a pin 55 fixed to some suitable part of the loom frame or fixed part attached thereto.

The said spring normally holds the tooth or pawl 49 out of engagement with the ratchet wheel teeth and also maintains the arm 31 out of the way or in a position such as may be determined with regard to convenience or other practical matters. The ratchet wheel is prevented from moving in the reverse direction or from permitting the cloth roll to move downwardly unintentionally, once it has been raised, by a stop pawl 56 forming part of an arm 51 having a hub 58 which is pivoted at the end of a stud 59. Stud 59, Fig. 3, is riveted or otherwise held within a suitable opening in the stand l9. A spring 69 normally urges the pawl 56 downwardly and into engagement with the ratchet wheel teeth except when intentionally lifted by the manually engageable arm or handle 6!.

For the purpose of retarding the motion of the cloth roll and material thereon as the same may have been released, a brake including the brake drum 4'! and a shoe 62 is also operated by the arm 51. the control for these two elements, that is, the stop pawl 55 and the brake shoe 62, is thus coordinated and by quickly moving the arm 6| upwardly, the pawl is released while substantially at the same time, the shoe 62 is engaged with drum 41. While it is possible that the shoe and drum may take any form suitable for the purpose, it has been found that a'tapered or converging groove in the drum, in cooperation with a correspondingly shaped shoe or other brake surface, makes it possible suitably to retard and to control the downward movement of the cloth roll and material thereon while exerting a minimum of effort on arm 5 I.

If desired, the arm 6| as well as arm 31 may be integrally formed with the attached parts, or may be so devised as to be detachable, in which event, it is removable and then one manually manipulated instrument may be employed for both the winding up or elevating of the cloth roll and for releasing and lowering the same since the functions are obviously never performed at the same time. If that is done, a suitable place may be provided at the loomside or adjacent thereto for receiving the arm so that it may be readily available, but need not be left in place to be contacted accidentally.

Now referring to Figs. 6 and 7, a means will be described which serves to limit the tensioning of the spring 38 after the cloth roll has been elevated to its highest position. This means comprises a dog generally indicated by numeral 53 and which actually comprises a hub 64 freely rotatable upon the shaft 34, an arm 65 extending outwardly from the hub and a laterally directed flange 66. In cooperation with the flange 55 a lug 6'! on gear 43 is so positioned as to engage or pick up the flange and to carry the entire dog around with the gear 43. A stop 63 may be fixed to or mounted upon any convenient relatively rigid part of the adjacent structure, but as herein devised, is a part of a gear cover 69 which is in turn fixed to the front girt [3 by "assists '7 means of a screw or screws Iii or ether convenient means. In actual operation, the rotation of gear 43 from an initial position in which the cloth roll is at its lowermost level eventually causes the 1 lug 67 to pick up the flange 66 and thereafter to carry the dog around with rotation of the gear until the said flange eventually contacts against the stop 68. As herein devised, the amount of rotationpossible for gear 43 is slightly more than one and one-half turns. That may be varied however, since the angular distance covered by the elements 66, 61 and 68 may be varied thereby to take up more or less of a revolution. The design of these parts is such as, in combination with the effective radius of the sheaves 32 and 33, to permit the maximum amount of movement necessary for elevating the cloth roll and then an additional movement sufficient to tension spring 33 so as to develop the desired amount of pressure between the cloth roll and the take-up roll.

Now having described the details of the mechanism, a brief resume of operation thereof will be given. Assuming that the cloth roll is empty and at its lowermost position, the general practice involved is that of threading the end of the fabric to be taken up and wound on the roll about the roll for a turn or more so as to start it, whereupon the weaver by raising the arm 3? until the tooth 49 engages the ratchet wheel teeth may then ratchet the mechanism applying several quick strokes to the said arm 3? until the roll l6 has been elevated and the fabric thereon engages the underside of the take-up roll I5. In elevating the mechanism as described the movement of the ratcheting means merely rotates pinion 44 and thereby gear 43 and the shaft and sheaves affixed thereto, taking up cables 2'! until the mechanism has arrived at its uppermost position. During that time, the spring 38 acts as a communicating means for imparting the rotatio'nal movement of the gear to the shaft and there is virtually no torsional deflection of the spring since the elevation of the parts requires very little effort.

A further "movement of the ratcheting means, pinion 4s and gear 13 is desired in order to tension spring 38 slightly so as to develop a degree of operating pressure between the fabric on roll 15 and the take-up roll 15. The amount of pressure desired has been predetermined and the design of the parts such, as heretofore described, that when that pressure has been developed, the movement of gear 2-3 as governed by dog 53 and stop 68 will have been completed. It is to' be understood that the ratcheting movement does not become very much harder during the tensioning of the spring 38, and in fact, no great amount of effort is at any time required to be applied to the arm 31. As the ratcheting of the wheel 48 progresses, a stop pawl 55 serves to lock the parts in position while the operator retracts the tooth 49 returning arm 31 to obtain a new grip and to secure more advanced teeth for imparting another movement to the mechanism.

Normally weaving continues until a maximum or other desired amount of fabric has been wound on the cloth roll. When material has thus been accumulated, it is desirable to lower the roll to doihng position, that is, a position in which it aligns with the notches in the stands I9 and 20, and also to relieve the tension in spring 38, since if that were not done removal of the weight on the cables would-permit the tensioned spring 38 to rotate the shaft 34 and elevate the blocks l1 and I8 to an uppermost position. In effecting the lowering movement and release of the spring, the arm or handle 6i is gripped and the pawl 56 quickly withdrawn from the ratchet wheel teeth by a rapid movement of the handle El upwardly at which time the bralge shoe 62 will coincidentally be engaged with the brake drum '41 thereby either holding the mechanism in position or permitting it to move gradually downwardly and the spring to be gradually relieved of tension. A slight amount of practice with the device permits the operator to carry out this function quickly, smoothly and with a minimum of effort. I

One feature which may be added to make it possible to raise an empty roll more quickly comprises means by which the spring shaft itself may be rotated directly, that is, not through the reduction gears. According to one example, a plurality of radial holes H are formed in the hub of the gear 53 and by inserting ab'ar oneof these holes and rotating the gear, the shaft may be turned. The bar is moved progressively from hole to hole and the roll may thus be quickly elevated.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a riumber of ways. The inventionis, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details describ'ed, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

1. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which cornprises sliding bearings for the roll ends'and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheave fixed adjacent the ends of saidjsha'ft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one endto said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a ratcheting means and a, springfor resiliently transmitting torsional forces from said ratcheting means to the shaft.

2. In a, loom having a take-u roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands Within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearing are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a gear rotatable on said shaft, a spring one end of which is fixed to the shaft and the other end of which is fixed to said gear, and a pinion in meshing relationship with said gear and ratchet means for advancing said gear to tension said spring through said pinion.

3. In a loom having a take-up roll and-a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stand and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a second shaft and a bearing mounting therefor, a reduction gear drive between said second and first mentioned shafts comprising a pinion on the second shaft, a gear loosely mounted upon the first shaft and spring means for imparting rotational movements of said gear to that shaft upon which it is loosely mounted, and a ratcheting mean for the second shaft.

4. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding :bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stand and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a second shaft and'a bearing mounting therefor, a reduction gear drive between said second and first mentioned shafts comprising a pinion on the second shaft, a gear loosely mounted upon the first shaft and spring means for imparting rotational movements of said gear to that shaft upon which it is loosely mounted, and a ratcheting means for the second shaft, and means for retarding the downward movement of the cloth roll when said ratcheting means is released com-.

prising a brake drum on said second shaft and a brake shoe and stop pawl for said ratcheting means and a coordinated control for said pawl and shoe whereby as the pawl is disengaged, the brake may be applied.

5. Mechanism as defined in claim 4 wherein means is provided for rotating said spring shaft directly rather than through said reduction gearing.

6. Mechanism as defined in claim 4 wherein a series of lever arm receiving means are provided as a part of said gear whereby said gear and spring shaft may be rotated directly.

7. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for th roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a gear rotatable on said shaft, a spring one end of which is fixed to the shaft and the other end of which is fixed to said gear, and a pinion in meshing relationship with said gear and ratchet means for advancing said gear to tension said spring through said pinion, and means for preventing overtensioning said spring as the cloth roll is raised and initial pressure applied which comprises a dog rotatable on said spring shaft adjacent said gear, a projection on the gear for picking up said dog and carrying it around with it as rotated by said ratcheting means, and a fixed stop for limiting the rotation of the dog and thereby of the spring shaft and cloth roll.

8. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotating said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes reduction gearing and a means operable through said reduction gearing to elevate the cloth roll and means for lowering said roll and fabric thereon which comprises a brake means effective for retarding the rotation of said spring shaft and operable thereon through said reduction gearing.

9. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for rotatin said shaft and sheaves to elevate the cloth roll which includes a means operable through reduction gearing to elevate the cloth roll and means for lowering said roll and fabric thereon which comprises a brake means effective for retarding the rotation of said spring shaft and operable thereon through said reduction gearing, said reduction gearing comprising a stub shaft, pinion fixed thereto and a gear on said spring shaft and means by which rotation of said gear is resiliently conveyed to the spring shaft, said brake means comprising a brake drum fixed to said stub shaft and a manually applied brake shoe engageable with said drum.

10. Mechanism as defined in claim 9 wherein said brake drum is provided with a convergent groove and said shoe is similarly provided with convergent lateral surfaces for engaging the said groove in the drum.

11. Means for rotating a spring shaft for raising a cloth roll in a loom which comprises a gear loosely mounted on said spring shaft, a second shaft adjacent and parallel to said spring shaft and a pinion fixed to one end of said second shaft and meshing with said gear, a ratcheting means at the opposite end of said second shaft, and a means for imparting rotational movement of the gear to the spring shaftcomprising a coil spring on the shaft, one end of said spring being at-v tached to the shaft and the otherend thereof being attached to said gear. 12. Means for rotating a spring shaft for raising a cloth roll in a loom which comprises a gear loosely mounted on said spring shaft, a second shaft adjacent and parallel tosaid spring shaft and a pinion fixed to one end of said second shaft and meshing with said gear, a ratcheting means at the opposite end of said second shaft, and a means for imparting rotational movement of the gear to the spring shaft comprising a coil spring on the shaft, one end of said spring being attached to the shaft and the other e d thereof being attached to said gear, said ratcheting means including a ratchet wheel fixed to said second shaft, a lever pivotally and slidably mounted on said shaft adjacent said ratchet wheel, a tooth engaging pawl carried by said lever, and a spring attached to said lever adjacent the pawl thereof and to a fixed member on said loom for normally maintaining the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and the lever in an inactive position.

13. Mechanism as defined in claim 12 wherein a stop pawl is provided for maintaining said ratchet wheel and incidentally the spring shaft in a set position.

14. Means for rotating a spring shaft for raising a cloth roll in a loom which comprises a gear loosely mounted on said spring shaft, a second shaft adjacent and parallel to said spring shaft and a pinion fixed to one end of said second shaft and meshing with said gear, a ratcheting means at the'opposite end of said second shaft, and a means for imparting rotational movement of the gear to the spring shaft comprising a coil spring on the shaft, one end of which is attached to the shaft and the other end of which is attached to said gear, and means for lowering said cloth roll by releasing tension in said spring which comprises a brake drum on said second shaft, a brake shoe cooperating therewith and manually operated means for applying said shoe to said drum.

15. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll and cloth roll stands within which said cloth roll is guided, the improvement in means for winding up and for releasing said cloth roll which comprises sliding bearings for the roll ends and guideways in said cloth roll stands in which said bearings are mounted for movement, a spring shaft adjacent the lower, front part of said loom, sheaves fixed adjacent the ends of said shaft, guide means above said roll stands and flexible connecting means fixed at one end to said bearings, passing over said guide means above the roll stands and attached to said sheaves to be wound thereon, and means for selectively elevating said cloth roll at different speeds comprising a means for imparting rotational movement directly to said spring shaft and a second means for rotating said shaft through reduction gearing.

JOSEPH B. JACKSON. CLIFFORD G. MOON.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

